I just had the honor of presenting a session titled Expert Marketing With A Lean Team at the Self Storage Association Spring conference in New Orleans. Christine Munther from G5 and I co-presented, and I believe we hit the ball out of the park, driving substantial value and motivation for the audience. I could tell based on the huge attendance (packed room with standing room only) and the incredibly engaged audience (wonderful questions). Today, I want to share the tips that I personally leveraged to put myself in a state of peak performance for our presentation. I hope that you can gain value from these warm up strategies so your next large-audience presentation is your personal best.

Tip 1: Focus On Your Mindstate

The Empty SSA Auditorium Before Our Big Presentation

When I woke up the day of my presentation, I was actually quite tired. It had been a long flight the day before and I didn’t get a ton of sleep due to the time change. That being said, I was able to quickly turn my mindstate into peak performance zone by leveraging my Five Minute Journal. (If you have not checked out my Five Minute Journal Review yet, I highly recommend doing so, as this tool is a game-changer.) The interesting part here is I actually forgot to bring my physical journal, but I was able to recreate The Five Minute Journal (minus the motivational quote) on a piece of blank paper.

Importantly, I set forth three goals for the day, only one related to my presentation. The others involved exercising at the gym and successfully completing an investment project I had been working on. I think this point is key: Don’t just focus on your presentation. Focus on you. Make the day exciting beyond your presentation so you don’t get overly focused and anxious about your public speaking. Your best presentations happen when you are relaxed.

Tip 2: Go To The Gym

I’m a big fan of the healthy lifestyle. I try to do something that benefits my health each and every day. I have learned that the mind and body are closely connected. I have also learned the working out can release positive endorphins and put you in a state of peak performance. In the morning, I did some moderate cardio and also some heavy weights (but not for too long). I didn’t want to exhaust myself for my big presentation, but I wanted to do something for me. I wanted to make sure I enjoyed a relaxed state before getting on stage.

Tip 3: Practice Early

Ian Lopuch & Christine Munther Presenting at SSA

Christine and I met early and practiced our presentation in the same auditorium of our actual event. I think the location element here is key. Get familiar with your auditorium, if you’re able to get access. Get used to the environment.

When we practiced, we purposefully made it more of an informal conversation. We did not go over every single point. We did not use our full voices. It’s important to conserve your energy and leave room for improvisation during the actual event. Save your personal best for the real deal, and go easy and light during the practice run.

As a practical matter, we also answered some important questions during our practice run. Would we stand on stage or roam the floor? Would we use the microphone at the podium or use lav mics? It’s great to develop your personal answers to these questions and more during the practice run.

Tip 4: Leave Time To Think

Before our big event, I took it relatively easy. I enjoyed the expo hall and some friendly conversations. I had a nice lunch and met some new faces. I left time to just sit and think (mostly thinking through speaking points in my mind). You can go about your day at more of a normal pace after the presentation. Before, it’s important to take it a little light and conserve your energy (especially mental energy). Always remember when going to a conference: You came there to get a job done. All focus needs to be placed towards that goal until it’s successfully accomplished.

Tip 5: Conserve Your Voice

This tip is an extension of the last one. I often find at these conferences that I lose my voice from so much networking. It’s loud and we all tend to speak in loud voices and with more frequency than normal. Make sure this doesn’t happen on the day of your big presentation. Conserve your voice. You can always power network right after (which is exactly what I did).

Tip 6: Don’t Worry About Your Slides

Public speaking is all about connecting with the audience. It’s all about improvising and telling a personal story. While slides can be helpful, I personally recommend speaking as if there are no slides at all. The point here: Your slides don’t really matter (as much as you think). By the time you have arrived at your conference, no additional changes to your slides are going to help. You’ve already done all you can do on that front. Now is the time to really get in that zone so you can speak from the heart and connect with the audience. The slides are just there to support you.

Tip 7: Don’t Eat Too Much

This is a funny one, but I have always found that it’s best to go light and very healthy on days of presentations. You don’t want to have a full stomach when you are about to present. I have found that the body is in peak performance for speaking with a moderate/low amount of food. In fact, I approach this in a similar fashion to sports. I don’t eat a ton of food before an 8-mile run. Rather, I eat that big meal right after. Treat your public speaking like a sporting event.

Tip 8: Talk To A Friend Or Two For Motivation

Your inner circle is key. I’m talking about your family and your very close friends. Ask them to wish you good luck. Leverage their words of encouragement to get excited about your event. Be careful here to not involve anyone who could potentially bring any negativity to the matter.

Tip 9: Start Getting Pumped Up

Right before your event is to start (about 15 minutes before), start moving from a state of calm to a state of controlled excitement. Now, the sports event is about to start. You’ll want to have all of your energy. You want to be a dynamic speaker that is happy and excited to be there. Don’t go too crazy, but walk around and maybe even do a few pushups.

Tip 10: Leverage Positive Images

Right before we went on stage (1-2 minutes before), I viewed photos of my amazing family. These photos brought a smile to my face and reminded me that family is more important than anything. These positive photos put my mind at ease and allowed me to transition into one of my personal best presentations.

In Summary

There is so much work that goes into preparing for a great presentation. In order to prepare for our hour-long presentation, we spent countless days building slides and handouts. That work is so important, as it’s the foundation of one’s presentation. At the same time, I believe that the tips mentioned above are the true game-changers. It all comes down to the single moment of one’s presentation and you have to be in the right state. It’s game day and you have to treat it as such.

As a bonus tip, I highly recommend a strategy of gratitude as well. There are many wonderful speakers out there with incredible stories to tell. Securing a large public speaking event is a big deal. Once your presentation is over, make sure to thank the conference organizers – verbally, via email, and also with a small gift. Your honor of presenting is due to some really special people who deserve thanks. And, of course, thank the audience too. Their time is incredibly valuable and you should strive to add lasting value in their lives.

I hope these tips help and wish you all the best in your next public speaking event.

I’m a tremendous fan of presenting at digital marketing conferences. In fact, I Recently Spoke at SMX East. Public speaking is such an adrenaline rush, and am amazing way to give back to the digital marketing community.

When my good friends at 3Q Digital extended the opportunity to write a guest post for their incredible blog, I just couldn’t resist one about public speaking. (Especially because their very own Jay Stampfl was on the panel about Advanced Bidding Strategies with me at SMX East.) Make sure to head on over to the 3Q Digital to read my Guide To Presenting At Digital Marketing Conferences.

I put a lot of work into this guide and cover all sorts of cool stuff:

Why Present? I give all the pros of presenting (there are many of them).

How To Score Your Speaking Opportunity. These are not easy to get, but a little hard work (and a savvy strategy) will get you there in no time.

How To Prepare. The best presentations come from attention to detail in the preparation phase.

Thinking about speaking at a digital marketing conference? Don’t know where to start? I hope my guide helps, and hope to see you speaking at the next big industry event!

My Speaking Opportunity: It’s All About Great Friendships

If you’ve been reading PPC Ian for a while, you probably know that I’m a huge fan of public speaking. Earlier this year, for example, I enjoyed being the Keynote Speaker At A Big YPO Event. When this SMX East opportunity presented itself, I just had to make it happen! It’s all about networking with the best and brightest in the industry. It’s all about giving back and Associating With Great People. Network in the right way (build real friendships and help others), and these great opportunities have a way of presenting themselves! I’m truly thankful for my friends in the industry who made this opportunity a reality.

My Experience Attending and Speaking At SMX East

PPC Ian and Jay Stampfl Speaking At SMX East

The highlight of my trip to New York was speaking at SMX East. When it comes to public speaking, it’s all about preparation. I actually prepared my presentation a few months ago. To commemorate my 10-plus years in the industry, I decided to present 10 lessons learned on advanced PPC bidding strategies (actually there was an 11th tip too, a bonus one). While my presentation was prepared months ago, it’s all about adding value far above-and-beyond the words printed on the slides. As such, I spent a good amount of time the days leading up to my presentation practicing, writing down notes, and finalizing my presentation. I found that this last minute prep work truly adds value and makes for a stellar presentation.

And, it went flawlessly. I was part of an exciting panel with two other leaders in digital marketing: Jay Stampfl from 3Q Digital and Lauryan Feijen from iProspect. Our panel was moderated by Brad Geddes, another leader in digital marketing. I really enjoy panels because they offer the presenter the opportunity to collaborate and form great friendships. Also, they offer the audience a variety of different viewpoints on the same topic, which is always cool. All three of our presentations were really great, and the questions from the audience kept coming. Really fun times!

Aside from the speaking, the overall SMX East conference and New York experience was amazing. I stayed at the Sheraton New York Times Square. They treated me like a king. Times Square itself was really cool. I enjoyed meeting up with several friends during my trip, including Leo Polanowski (Head of Clients Services, Americas at Yahoo!) and Robby (one of my old friends, a veteran in our indsutry). I found the food in New York truly delicious, especially the the pizza. The weather was stellar (70s), and the week couldn’t have gone better. I left energized and excited about our industry! I also left feeling truly thankful that I have a boss and employer who supported me through the entire process. Thanks, SMX East, for the great opportunity and fun times!

Pictures From SMX East 2014 and My Trip To New York

Happy holidays, everyone! It’s around this time of year (with the new year quickly approaching) that I’m always thinking of great, new ideas to improve all areas of my life: my career, my personal life, and of course my blog. Just last week, I posted a video about Brainstorming For 2014.

Well, the other week while brainstorming, my wife suggested a new idea called “Backyard Blogging”. This would be a fun video blog series that I would do each week (or as often as possible) here on PPC Ian. It would be a great way to keep it fun and casual, and shoot informative videos without much/any need for fancy editing. The end result: This becomes a new and exciting way to connect with others in digital marketing / customer acquisition (you), and keeps things super fun here on PPC Ian. Also, it’s a fun way for me to practice my own presentation and speaking skills (something I’m truly passionate about).

Well, I’m thrilled today to share my first episode of Backyard Blogging. Please check it out below, and make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Playing into the theme above, I thought the first topic should be all about public speaking and presentation skills for businesspeople. In the exciting world of marketing and customer acquisition, there are always opportunities to present, oftentimes to large audiences. Superb presentation skills create a world of opportunity in one’s career. Thanks for watching and wishing you an amazing 2014!

I absolutely love public speaking. I always get an incredible rush, especially when speaking to large audiences. It’s also a fun and amazing way to give back to the digital marketing industry, one of my core goals each and every year. I have featured quite a few of my speaking events here on PPC Ian over the years. Here are some of my favorites:

Recently, an amazing opportunity presented itself: I had the incredible honor of speaking to the Google AdWords Product Marketing team. It was a truly amazing experience, one of my favorite speaking opportunities. Formatted as a pure Q&A format, the Google team asked some truly great questions. I particularly enjoyed sharing my large, enterprise-level AdWords experience with Google, and hope my presentation helped spark some ideas in Google’s product marketing roadmap.

I also enjoyed staying after the presentation and forming friendships. It truly is all about your network and friendships, that’s how this unique opportunity presented itself. Matt and Google, I truly appreciate the opportunity, please let me know if I can ever be of assistance!

PPC Ian Speaking At Google

I’m really excited right now because I spoke at Google today. It was quite the honor and my second time speaking at Google (I spoke on a panel back in 2009 at Google’s Client Ad Forum). Today, I spoke for one hour to a group of 20 Google employees across marketing and product management, an event called Client Connect. I want to sincerely thank James and the Google marketing team for arranging this event, it was a true honor in my career.

Corporate SEM Offers Great Speaking Opportunities

PPC Ian with Ryan and Rich From Google

My presentation today spanned one hour, and that hour flew right by! I focused on industry trends, predictions for the future of digital marketing, and opportunities for both advertisers and Google. Throughout my presentation, I had the great opportunity to interact with amazing Google employees and field some seriously great questions! While I’m not able to share the presentation here (it’s confidential to my employer), I wanted to write a quick post to call this out as a major advantage of the corporate SEM career path.

Google Is Amazing

I wanted to close out by calling attention to Google. I couldn’t be more impressed. My account management team (Ryan and Rich in the picture above with me) in addition to all the attendees to my presentation are truly top notch. Google is innovating so quickly and I really can’t get enough of it. They’re one of the best partners ever and it’s a true pleasure working with the Google Financial Services team. I’m looking forward to my next public speaking opportunity for sure.

Today my friend David Rogier, VP of Stanford GSB’s Entrepreneur Club, uploaded the video of my presentation to the Entrepreneur Club’s website! You can check out my online marketing presentation by visiting the Entrepreneur Club’s website or by simply watching it below!

I sincerely hope you find it helpful. Also, I wanted to close out by sincerely thanking Stanford GSB, the amazing organizers of the event, everyone who attended, and of course everyone reading my blog!

All the best,
Ian Lopuch (PPC Ian)

PS – As mentioned in my last post, my PowerPoint presentation is available for free! Simply sign up for my free PPC newsletter by entering your first name and email address in the top right corner of this page or by visiting my PPC newsletter page. You’ll receive my Stanford GSB presentation in addition to my eBook featuring high leverage PPC career tips, all for free! I recommend following along with the PowerPoint as you watch the video. Don’t have enough time to watch the full two hour video? You may wish to scan the PowerPoint and then fast forward to the sections of the video that are most interesting to you! Thanks again!

I couldn’t be more excited! I just got back from one of my best presentations ever! I spent two full hours at the Stanford Graduate School of Business educating students about online marketing. I specifically presented on PPC and SEO and couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome. (Fast Forward: I provide info at the end of this post on how you can download my PPC and SEO PowerPoint presentation.)

David Rogier – VP of the Entrepreneur Club and Resident at the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. David organized my event and I can’t thank him enough!

Tia Gao – Co-President of the High Tech Club

Kate Gronso – VP of the Marketing Club

Brendan Marshall – Co-President of the Entrepreneur Club

Tony Hsieh – Co-President of the Entrepreneur Club

Ibrahim Elbouchikhi – Co-President of the Entrepreneur Club

I short, the folks mentioned above are none other than amazing. I was blown away by Stanford GSB’s leadership team. I’m very excited to have some new friends.

As you may know, I graduated from Stanford back in 2004 with my BS in Computer Science and Minor in Economics. In my opinion, Stanford is the best university out there! When VP of Stanford GSB’s Entrepreneur Club David Rogier invited me to speak at Stanford, I just couldn’t pass up the amazing opportunity. As you may know, I’m really big on goals and a big public speaking event is on my list of 2010 goals. I’m extremely excited that this event allowed me to complete my goal (and then some!). Over the past few weeks, I have been working very diligently on my presentation, one that provides actionable tips to optimize PPC and SEO online marketing campaigns. All of the students in the audience have businesses they are trying to launch. I hope that my PPC and SEO strategies help launch their dreams!

During my presentation, I was very thrilled to see an engaged audience for two full hours. How awesome is that! It really was amazing how fast time flew by. Moreover, I was floored with the awesome questions that the attendees asked. This level of interaction really made my presentation fun. It’s hard to find a sharper audience than Stanford GSB students, in my opinion.

For all PPC Ian readers out there, I want to make my PowerPoint presentation available for your viewing! As such, (in addition to my free eBook) my Stanford GSB PowerPoint is now free when you sign up for my newsletter! All you have to do is enter your first name and email in the box in the upper right corner of this page (or on my PPC eBook page). Already on my newsletter list? I will be sending you my presentation very shortly. Thanks again everyone, you are the best!

About PPC Ian

Hi, I'm Ian Lopuch, also known as PPC Ian. I'm a Silicon Valley business executive, marketing executive, and general manager, with deep roots in technology. I’m also an investor with a lifelong obsession for cash flow. Whether I’m acquiring and developing commercial real estate properties, leading complex digital marketing programs with $30 MM+ annual budgets, integrating cutting-edge technologies, or hiring and coaching large teams, I take charge of all with the mindset of an investor.